CHAPTER 5.

THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD CONSPICUOUS IN THE CREATION, AND CONTINUAL GOVERNMENT OF
THE WORLD.

This chapter consists of two parts: 1. The former, which occupies the first ten
sections, divides all the works of God into two great classes, and elucidates
the knowledge of God as displayed in each class. The one class is treated of in
the first six, and the other in the four following sections: 2. The latter part
of the chapter shows, that, in consequence of the extreme stupidity of men,
those manifestations of God, however perspicuous, lead to no useful result.
This latter part, which commences at the eleventh section, is continued to the
end of the chapter.

Sections.

1. The invisible and incomprehensible essence of God, to a certain extent,
made visible in his works.

2. This declared by the first class of worksóviz. the admirable motions
of the heavens and the earth, the symmetry of the human body, and the
connection of its parts; in short, the various objects which are presented to
every eye.

3. This more especially manifested in the structure of the human body.

4. The shameful ingratitude of disregarding God, who, in such a variety of
ways, is manifested within us. The still more shameful ingratitude of
contemplating the endowments of the soul, without ascending to Him who gave
them. No objection can be founded on any supposed organism in the soul.

5. The powers and actions of the soul, a proof of its separate existence from
the body. Proofs of the soulís immortality. Objection that the whole
world is quickened by one soul. Reply to the objection. Its impiety.

6. Conclusion from what has been saidóviz. that the omnipotence,
eternity, and goodness of God, may be learned from the first class of works,
i.e., those which are in accordance with the ordinary course of
nature.

7. The second class of worksóviz. those above the ordinary course of
nature, afford clear evidence of the perfections of God, especially his
goodness, justice, and mercy.

8. Also his providence, power, and wisdom.

9. Proofs and illustrations of the divine Majesty. The use of themóviz.
the acquisition of divine knowledge in combination with true piety.

10. The tendency of the knowledge of God to inspire the righteous with the
hope of future life, and remind the wicked of the punishments reserved for
them. Its tendency, moreover, to keep alive in the hearts of the righteous a
sense of the divine goodness.

11. The second part of the chapter, which describes the stupidity both of
learned and unlearned, in ascribing the whole order of things, and the
admirable arrangements of divine Providence, to fortune.

12. Hence Polytheism, with all its abominations, and the endless and
irreconcilable opinions of the philosophers concerning God.

13. All guilty of revolt from God, corrupting pure religion, either by
following general custom, or the impious consent of antiquity.

14. Though irradiated by the wondrous glories of creation, we cease not to
follow our own ways.

15. Our conduct altogether inexcusable, the dullness of perception being
attributable to ourselves, while we are fully reminded of the true path, both
by the structure and the government of the world.

1. SINCE the perfection of blessedness consists in the knowledge of God, he has
been pleased, in order that none might be excluded from the means of obtaining
felicity, not only to deposit in our minds that seed of religion of which we
have already spoken, but so to manifest his perfections in the whole structure
of the universe, and daily place himself in our view, that we cannot open our
eyes without being compelled to behold him. His essence, indeed, is
incomprehensible, utterly transcending all human thought; but on each of his
works his glory is engraven in characters so bright, so distinct, and so
illustrious, that none, however dull and illiterate, can plead ignorance as
their excuse. Hence, with perfect truth, the Psalmist exclaims, ìHe
covereth himself with light as with a garment,î (Psalm 104:2); as if he
had said, that God for the first time was arrayed in visible attire when, in
the creation of the world, he displayed those glorious banners, on which, to
whatever side we turn, we behold his perfections visibly portrayed. In the same
place, the Psalmist aptly compares the expanded heavens to his royal tent, and
says, ìHe layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters, maketh the
clouds his chariot, and walketh upon the wings of the wind,î sending
forth the winds and lightnings as his swift messengers. And because the glory
of his power and wisdom is more refulgent in the firmament, it is frequently
designated as his palace. And, first, wherever you turn your eyes, there is no
portion of the world, however minute, that does not exhibit at least some
sparks of beauty; while it is impossible to contemplate the vast and beautiful
fabric as it extends around, without being overwhelmed by the immense weight of
glory. Hence, the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews elegantly describes the
visible worlds as images of the invisible (Heb. 11:3), the elegant structure of
the world serving us as a kind of mirror, in which we may behold God, though
otherwise invisible. For the same reason, the Psalmist attributes language to
celestial objects, a language which all nations understand (Psalm 19:1), the
manifestation of the Godhead being too clear to escape the notice of any
people, however obtuse. The apostle Paul, stating this still more
clearly, says, ìThat which may be known of God is manifest in them, for
God has showed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation
of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made,
even his eternal power and Godhead,î (Rom. 1:20).

2. In attestation of his wondrous wisdom, both the heavens and the earth
present us with innumerable proofs not only those more recondite proofs which
astronomy, medicine, and all the natural sciences, are designed to illustrate,
but proofs which force themselves on the notice of the most illiterate peasant,
who cannot open his eyes without beholding them. It is true, indeed, that those
who are more or less intimately acquainted with those liberal studies are
thereby assisted and enabled to obtain a deeper insight into the secret
workings of divine wisdom. No man, however, though he be ignorant
of these, is incapacitated for discerning such proofs of creative wisdom as may
well cause him to break forth in admiration of the Creator. To investigate the
motions of the heavenly bodies, to determine their positions, measure their
distances, and ascertain their properties, demands skill, and a more careful
examination; and where these are so employed, as the Providence of God is
thereby more fully unfolded, so it is reasonable to suppose that the mind takes
a loftier flight, and obtains brighter views of his glory.58 Still,
none who have the use of their eyes can be ignorant of the divine skill
manifested so conspicuously in the endless variety, yet distinct and well
ordered array, of the heavenly host; and, therefore, it is plain that the Lord
has furnished every man with abundant proofs of his wisdom. The same is true in
regard to the structure of the human frame. To determine the connection of its
parts, its symmetry and beauty, with the skill of a Galen (Lib. De Usu
Partium), requires singular acuteness; and yet all men acknowledge that the
human body bears on its face such proofs of ingenious contrivance as are
sufficient to proclaim the admirable wisdom of its Maker.

3. Hence certain of the philosophers59 have not improperly called
man a microcosm (miniature world), as being a rare specimen of
divine power, wisdom, and goodness, and containing within himself wonders
sufficient to occupy our minds, if we are willing so to employ them. Paul,
accordingly, after reminding the Athenians that they ìmight feel after
God and find him,î immediately adds, that ìhe is not far from
every one of us,î (Acts 17:27); every man having within himself undoubted
evidence of the heavenly grace by which he lives, and moves, and has his being.
But if, in order to apprehend God, it is unnecessary to go farther than
ourselves, what excuse can there be for the sloth of any man who will not take
the trouble of descending into himself that he may find Him? For the same
reason, too, David, after briefly celebrating the wonderful name and glory of
God, as everywhere displayed, immediately exclaims, ìWhat is man, that
thou art mindful of him?î and again, ìOut of the mouths of babes
and sucklings thou hast ordained strength,î (Psalm 8:2, 4). Thus he
declares not only that the human race are a bright mirror of the
Creatorís works, but that infants hanging on their mothersí
breasts have tongues eloquent enough to proclaim his glory without the aid of
other orators. Accordingly, he hesitates not to bring them forward as fully
instructed to refute the madness of those who, from devilish pride, would fain
extinguish the name of God. Hence, too, the passage which Paul quotes from
Aratus, ìWe are his offspring,î (Acts 17:28), the excellent gifts
with which he has endued us attesting that he is our Father. In the
same way also, from natural instinct, and, as it were, at the dictation of
experience, heathen poets called him the father of men. No one, indeed, will
voluntarily and willingly devote himself to the service of God unless he has
previously tasted his paternal love, and been thereby allured to love and
reverence Him.

4. But herein appears the shameful ingratitude of men. Though they have in
their own persons a factory where innumerable operations of God are carried on,
and a magazine stored with treasures of inestimable valueóinstead of
bursting forth in his praise, as they are bound to do, they, on the contrary,
are the more inflated and swelled with pride. They feel how wonderfully God is
working in them, and their own experience tells them of the vast variety of
gifts which they owe to his liberality. Whether they will or not, they cannot
but know that these are proofs of his Godhead, and yet they inwardly suppress
them. They have no occasion to go farther than themselves, provided they do
not, by appropriating as their own that which has been given them from heaven,
put out the light intended to exhibit God clearly to their minds. At this day,
however, the earth sustains on her bosom many monster mindsóminds which
are not afraid to employ the seed of Deity deposited in human nature as a means
of suppressing the name of God. Can any thing be more detestable than this
madness in man, who, finding God a hundred times both in his body and his soul,
makes his excellence in this respect a pretext for denying that there is a God?
He will not say that chance has made him differ from the brutes that perish;
but, substituting nature as the architect of the universe, he suppresses the
name of God. The swift motions of the soul, its noble faculties and rare
endowments, bespeak the agency of God in a manner which would make the
suppression of it impossible, did not the Epicureans, like so many Cyclops, use
it as a vantage-ground, from which to wage more audacious war with God. Are so
many treasures of heavenly wisdom employed in the guidance of such a worm as
man, and shall the whole universe be denied the same privilege? To hold that
there are organs in the soul corresponding to each of its faculties, is so far
from obscuring the glory of God, that it rather illustrates it. Let Epicurus
tell what concourse of atoms, cooking meat and drink, can form one portion into
refuse and another portion into blood, and make all the members separately
perform their office as carefully as if they were so many souls acting with
common consent in the superintendence of one body.

5. But my business at present is not with that stye: I wish rather to deal with
those who, led away by absurd subtleties, are inclined, by giving an indirect
turn to the frigid doctrine of Aristotle, to employ it for the purpose both of
disproving the immortality of the soul, and robbing God of his rights. Under
the pretext that the faculties of the soul are organised, they chain it to the
body as if it were incapable of a separate existence, while they endeavour as
much as in them lies, by pronouncing eulogiums on nature, to suppress the name
of God. But there is no ground for maintaining that the powers of the soul are
confined to the performance of bodily functions. What has the body to do with
your measuring the heavens, counting the number of the stars, ascertaining
their magnitudes, their relative distances, the rate at which they move, and
the orbits which they describe? I deny not that Astronomy has its use; all I
mean to show is, that these lofty investigations are not conducted by organised
symmetry, but by the faculties of the soul itself apart altogether from the
body. The single example I have given will suggest many others to the reader.
The swift and versatile movements of the soul in glancing from heaven to earth,
connecting the future with the past, retaining the remembrance of former years,
nay, forming creations of its ownóits skill, moreover, in making
astonishing discoveries, and inventing so many wonderful arts, are sure
indications of the agency of God in man. What shall we say of its activity when
the body is asleep, its many revolving thoughts, its many useful suggestions,
its many solid arguments, nay, its presentiment of things yet to come? What
shall we say but that man bears about with him a stamp of immortality which can
never be effaced? But how is it possible for man to be divine, and yet not
acknowledge his Creator? Shall we, by means of a power of judging implanted in
our breast, distinguish between justice and injustice, and yet there be no
judge in heaven? Shall some remains of intelligence continue with us in sleep,
and yet no God keep watch in heaven? Shall we be deemed the inventors of so
many arts and useful properties that God may be defrauded of his praise, though
experience tells us plainly enough, that whatever we possess is dispensed to us
in unequal measures by another hand? The talk of certain persons concerning a
secret inspiration quickening the whole world, is not only silly, but
altogether profane. Such persons are delighted with the following celebrated
passage of Virgil:60ó

ìKnow, first, that heaven, and earthís compacted frame,

And flowing waters, and the starry flame,

And both the radiant lights, one common soul

Inspires and feedsóand animates the whole.

This active mind, infused through all the space,

Unites and mingles with the mighty mass:

Hence, men and beasts the breath of life obtain,

And birds of air, and monsters of the main.

Thí ethereal vigour is in all the same,

And every soul is filled with equal flame.î61

The meaning of all this is, that the world, which was made to display the glory
of God, is its own creator. For the same poet has, in another
place,62 adopted a view common to both Greeks and Latins:ó

ìHence to the bee some sages have assigned

A portion of the God, and heavenly mind;

For God goes forth, and spreads throughout the whole,

Heaven, earth, and sea, the universal soul;

Each, at its birth, from him all beings share,

Both man and brute, the breath of vital air;

To him return, and, loosed from earthly chain,

Fly whence they sprung, and rest in God again;

Spurn at the grave, and, fearless of decay,

Dwell in high heaven, art star thí ethereal way.î63

Here we see how far that jejune speculation, of a universal mind animating and
invigorating the world, is fitted to beget and foster piety in our minds. We
have a still clearer proof of this in the profane verses which the licentious
Lucretius has written as a deduction from the same principle.64 The plain object is to form an unsubstantial deity, and thereby
banish the true God whom we ought to fear and worship. I admit, indeed that the
expressions ìNature is God,î may be piously used, if dictated by a
pious mind; but as it is inaccurate and harsh (Nature being more properly the
order which has been established by God), in matters which are so very
important, and in regard to which special reverence is due, it does harm to
confound the Deity with the inferior operations of his hands.

6. Let each of us, therefore, in contemplating his own nature, remember that
there is one God who governs all natures, and, in governing, wishes us to have
respect to himself, to make him the object of our faith, worship, and
adoration. Nothing, indeed, can be more preposterous than to enjoy those noble
endowments which bespeak the divine presence within us, and to neglect him who,
of his own good pleasure, bestows them upon us. In regard to his power, how
glorious the manifestations by which he urges us to the contemplation of
himself; unless, indeed, we pretend not to know whose energy it is that by a
word sustains the boundless fabric of the universeóat one time making
heaven reverberate with thunder, sending forth the scorching lightning, and
setting the whole atmosphere in a blaze; at another, causing the raging
tempests to blow, and forthwith, in one moment, when it so pleases him, making
a perfect calm; keeping the sea, which seems constantly threatening the earth
with devastation, suspended as it were in air; at one time, lashing it into
fury by the impetuosity of the winds; at another, appeasing its rage, and
stilling all its waves. Here we might refer to those glowing descriptions of
divine power, as illustrated by natural events, which occur throughout
Scripture; but more especially in the book of Job, and the prophecies of
Isaiah. These, however, I purposely omit, because a better opportunity of
introducing them will be found when I come to treat of the Scriptural account
of the creation. (Infra, chap. 14 s. 1, 2, 20, sq). I only wish
to observe here, that this method of investigating the divine perfections, by
tracing the lineaments of his countenance as shadowed forth in the firmament
and on the earth, is common both to those within and to those without the pale
of the Church. From the power of God we are naturally led to consider his
eternity since that from which all other things derive their origin must
necessarily be selfexistent and eternal. Moreover, if it be asked what cause
induced him to create all things at first, and now inclines him to preserve
them, we shall find that there could be no other cause than his own goodness.
But if this is the only cause, nothing more should be required to draw forth
our love towards him; every creature, as the Psalmist reminds us, participating
in his mercy. ìHis tender mercies are over all his works,î (Ps.
145:9).

7. In the second class of Godís works, namely those which are above the
ordinary course of nature, the evidence of his perfections are in every respect
equally clear. For in conducting the affairs of men, he so arranges the course
of his providence, as daily to declare, by the clearest manifestations, that
though all are in innumerable ways the partakers of his bounty, the righteous
are the special objects of his favour, the wicked and profane the special
objects of his severity. It is impossible to doubt his punishment of crimes;
while at the same time he, in no unequivocal manner, declares that he is the
protector, and even the avenger of innocence, by shedding blessings on the
good, helping their necessities, soothing and solacing their griefs, relieving
their sufferings, and in all ways providing for their safety. And though he
often permits the guilty to exult for a time with impunity, and the innocent to
be driven to and fro in adversity, nay, even to be wickedly and iniquitously
oppressed, this ought not to produce any uncertainty as to the uniform justice
of all his procedure. Nay, an opposite inference should be drawn. When any one
crime calls forth visible manifestations of his anger, it must be because he
hates all crimes; and, on the other hand, his leaving many crimes unpunished,
only proves that there is a Judgment in reserve, when the punishment now
delayed shall be inflicted. In like manner, how richly does he supply us with
the means of contemplating his mercy when, as frequently happens, he continues
to visit miserable sinners with unwearied kindness, until he subdues their
depravity, and woos them back with more than a parentís fondness?

8. To this purpose the Psalmist (Ps. 107) mentioning how God, in a wondrous
manner, often brings sudden and unexpected succour to the miserable when almost
on the brink of despair, whether in protecting them when they stray in deserts,
and at length leading them back into the right path, or supplying them with
food when famishing for want, or delivering them when captive from iron fetters
and foul dungeons, or conducting them safe into harbour after shipwreck, or
bringing them back from the gates of death by curing their diseases, or, after
burning up the fields with heat and drought, fertilising them with the river of
his grace, or exalting the meanest of the people, and casting down the mighty
from their lofty seats:óthe Psalmist, after bringing forward examples of
this description, infers that those things which men call fortuitous events,
are so many proofs of divine providence, and more especially of paternal
clemency, furnishing ground of joy to the righteous, and at the same time
stopping the mouths of the ungodly. But as the greater part of mankind,
enslaved by error, walk blindfold in this glorious theatre, he exclaims that it
is a rare and singular wisdom to meditate carefully on these works of God,
which many, who seem most sharp-sighted in other respects, behold without
profit. It is indeed true, that the brightest manifestation of divine glory
finds not one genuine spectator among a hundred. Still, neither his power nor
his wisdom is shrouded in darkness. His power is strikingly displayed when the
rage of the wicked, to all appearance irresistible, is crushed in a single
moment; their arrogance subdued, their strongest bulwarks overthrown, their
armour dashed to pieces, their strength broken, their schemes defeated without
an effort, and audacity which set itself above the heavens is precipitated to
the lowest depths of the earth. On the other hand, the poor are raised up out
of the dust, and the needy lifted out of the dung hill (Ps. 113:7), the
oppressed and afflicted are rescued in extremity, the despairing animated with
hope, the unarmed defeat the armed, the few the many, the weak the strong. The
excellence of the divine wisdom is manifested in distributing everything in due
season, confounding the wisdom of the world, and taking the wise in their own
craftiness (1 Cor. 3:19); in short, conducting all things in perfect accordance
with reason.

9. We see there is no need of a long and laborious train of argument in order
to obtain proofs which illustrate and assert the Divine Majesty. The few which
we have merely touched, show them to be so immediately within our reach in
every quarter, that we can trace them with the eye, or point to them with the
finger. And here we must observe again (see chap. 2 s. 2), that the knowledge
of God which we are invited to cultivate is not that which, resting satisfied
with empty speculation, only flutters in the brain, but a knowledge which will
prove substantial and fruitful wherever it is duly perceived, and rooted in the
heart. The Lord is manifested by his perfections. When we feel their power
within us, and are conscious of their benefits, the knowledge must impress us
much more vividly than if we merely imagined a God whose presence we never
felt. Hence it is obvious, that in seeking God, the most direct path and the
fittest method is, not to attempt with presumptuous curiosity to pry into his
essence, which is rather to be adored than minutely discussed, but to
contemplate him in his works, by which he draws near, becomes familiar, and in
a manner communicates himself to us. To this the Apostle referred when he said,
that we need not go far in search of him (Acts 17:27), because, by the
continual working of his power, he dwells in every one of us. Accordingly,
David (Psalm 145), after acknowledging that his greatness is unsearchable,
proceeds to enumerate his works, declaring that his greatness will thereby be
unfolded. It therefore becomes us also diligently to prosecute that
investigation of God which so enraptures the soul with admiration as, at the
same time, to make an efficacious impression on it. And, as Augustine expresses
it (in Psalm 144), since we are unable to comprehend Him, and are, as it were,
overpowered by his greatness, our proper course is to contemplate his works,
and so refresh ourselves with his goodness.

10. By the knowledge thus acquired, we ought not only to be stimulated to
worship God, but also aroused and elevated to the hope of future life. For,
observing that the manifestations which the Lord gives both of his mercy and
severity are only begun and incomplete, we ought to infer that these are
doubtless only a prelude to higher manifestations, of which the full display is
reserved for another state. Conversely, when we see the righteous brought into
affliction by the ungodly, assailed with injuries, overwhelmed with calumnies,
and lacerated by insult and contumely, while, on the contrary, the wicked
flourish, prosper, acquire ease and honour, and all these with impunity, we
ought forthwith to infer, that there will be a future life in which iniquity
shall receive its punishment, and righteousness its reward. Moreover, when we
observe that the Lord often lays his chastening rod on the righteous, we may
the more surely conclude, that far less will the righteous ultimately escape
the scourges of his anger. There is a well-known passage in Augustine (De
Civitat. Dei, lib. 1 c. 8), ìWere all sin now visited with open
punishment, it might be thought that nothing was reserved for the final
Judgment; and, on the other hand, were no sin now openly punished, it might be
supposed there was no divine providence.î It must be acknowledged,
therefore, that in each of the works of God, and more especially in the whole
of them taken together, the divine perfections are delineated as in a picture,
and the whole human race thereby invited and allured to acquire the knowledge
of God, and, in consequence of this knowledge, true and complete felicity.
Moreover, while his perfections are thus most vividly displayed, the only means
of ascertaining their practical operation and tendency is to descend into
ourselves, and consider how it is that the Lord there manifests his wisdom,
power, and energy,óhow he there displays his justice, goodness, and
mercy. For although David (Psalm 92:6) justly complains of the extreme
infatuation of the ungodly in not pondering the deep counsels of God, as
exhibited in the government of the human race, what he elsewhere says (Psalm
40) is most true, that the wonders of the divine wisdom in this respect are
more in number than the hairs of our head. But I leave this topic at present,
as it will be more fully considered afterwards in its own place (Book I. c. 16,
see. 6ñ9).

11. Bright, however, as is the manifestation which God gives both of himself
and his immortal kingdom in the mirror of his works, so great is our stupidity,
so dull are we in regard to these bright manifestations, that we derive no
benefit from them. For in regard to the fabric and admirable arrangement of the
universe, how few of us are there who, in lifting our eyes to the heavens, or
looking abroad on the various regions of the earth, ever think of the Creator?
Do we not rather overlook Him, and sluggishly content ourselves with a view of
his works? And then in regard to supernatural events, though these are
occurring every day, how few are there who ascribe them to the ruling
providence of Godóhow many who imagine that they are casual results
produced by the blind evolutions of the wheel of chance? Even when under the
guidance and direction of these events, we are in a manner forced to the
contemplation of God (a circumstance which all must occasionally experience),
and are thus led to form some impressions of Deity, we immediately fly off to
carnal dreams and depraved fictions, and so by our vanity corrupt heavenly
truth. This far, indeed, we differ from each other, in that every one
appropriates to himself some peculiar error; but we are all alike in this, that
we substitute monstrous fictions for the one living and true Godóa
disease not confined to obtuse and vulgar minds, but affecting the noblest, and
those who, in other respects, are singularly acute. How lavishly in this
respect have the whole body of philosophers betrayed their stupidity and want
of sense? To say nothing of the others whose absurdities are of a still grosser
description, how completely does Plato, the soberest and most religious of them
all, lose himself in his round globe?65 What must be the case with
the rest, when the leaders, who ought to have set them an example, commit such
blunders, and labour under such hallucinations? In like manner, while the
government of the world places the doctrine of providence beyond dispute, the
practical result is the same as if it were believed that all things were
carried hither and thither at the caprice of chance; so prone are we to vanity
and error. I am still referring to the most distinguished of the philosophers,
and not to the common herd, whose madness in profaning the truth of God exceeds
all bounds.

12. Hence that immense flood of error with which the whole world is overflowed.
Every individual mind being a kind of labyrinth, it is not wonderful, not only
that each nation has adopted a variety of fictions, but that almost every man
has had his own god. To the darkness of ignorance have been added presumption
and wantonness, and hence there is scarcely an individual to be found without
some idol or phantom as a substitute for Deity. Like water gushing forth from a
large and copious spring, immense crowds of gods have issued from the human
mind, every man giving himself full license, and devising some peculiar form of
divinity, to meet his own views. It is unnecessary here to attempt a catalogue
of the superstitions with which the world was overspread. The thing were
endless; and the corruptions themselves, though not a word should be said,
furnish abundant evidence of the blindness of the human mind. I say nothing of
the rude and illiterate vulgar; but among the philosophers66 who
attempted, by reason and learning, to pierce the heavens, what shameful
disagreement! The higher any one was endued with genius, and the more he was
polished by science and art, the more specious was the colouring which he gave
to his opinions. All these, however, if examined more closely, will be found to
be vain show. The Stoics plumed themselves on their acuteness, when they sai
that the various names of God might be extracted from all the parts of nature,
and yet that his unity was not thereby divided: as if we were not already too
prone to vanity, and had no need of being presented with an endless
multiplicity of gods, to lead us further and more grossly into error. The
mystic theology of the Egyptians shows how sedulously they laboured to be
thought rational on this subject.68 And, perhaps, at the first
glance, some show of probability might deceive the simple and unwary; but never
did any mortal devise a scheme by which religion was not foully corrupted. This
endless variety and confusion emboldened the Epicureans, and other gross
despisers of piety, to cut off all sense of God. For when they saw that the
wisest contradicted each others they hesitated not to infer from their
dissensions, and from the frivolous and absurd doctrines of each, that men
foolishly, and to no purpose, brought torment upon themselves by searching for
a God, there being none: and they thought this inference safe, because it was
better at once to deny God altogether, than to feign uncertain gods, and
thereafter engage in quarrels without end. They, indeed, argue absurdly, or
rather weave a cloak for their impiety out of human ignorance; though ignorance
surely cannot derogate from the prerogatives of God. But since all confess that
there is no topic on which such difference exists, both among learned and
unlearned, the proper inference is, that the human mind, which thus errs in
inquiring after God, is dull and blind in heavenly mysteries. Some praise the
answer of Simonides, who being asked by King Hero what God was, asked a day to
consider. When the king next day repeated the question, he asked two days; and
after repeatedly doubling the number of days, at length replied, ìThe
longer I consider, the darker the subject appears.î69 He, no
doubt, wisely suspended his opinion, when he did not see clearly: still his
answer shows, that if men are only naturally taught, instead of having any
distinct, solid, or certain knowledge, they fasten only on contradictory
principles, and, in consequence, worship an unknown God.

13. Hence we must hold, that whosoever adulterates pure religion (and this must
be the case with all who cling to their own views), make a departure from the
one God. No doubt, they will allege that they have a different intention; but
it is of little consequence what they intend or persuade themselves to believe,
since the Holy Spirit pronounces all to be apostates, who, in the blindness of
their minds, substitute demons in the place of God. For this reason Paul
declares that the Ephesians were ìwithout God,î (Eph. 2:12), until
they had learned from the Gospel what it is to worship the true God. Nor must
this be restricted to one people only, since, in another place, he declares in
general, that all men ìbecame vain in their imaginations,î after
the majesty of the Creator was manifested to them in the structure of the
world. Accordingly, in order to make way for the only true God, he condemns all
the gods celebrated among the Gentiles as lying and false, leaving no Deity
anywhere but in Mount Zion where the special knowledge of God was professed
(Hab. 2:18, 20). Among the Gentiles in the time of Christ, the Samaritans
undoubtedly made the nearest approach to true piety; yet we hear from his own
mouth that they worshipped they knew not what (John 4:22); whence it follows
that they were deluded by vain errors. In short, though all did not give way to
gross vice, or rush headlong into open idolatry, there was no pure and
authentic religion founded merely on common belief. A few individuals may not
have gone all insane lengths with the vulgar; still Paulís declaration
remains true, that the wisdom of God was not apprehended by the princes of this
world (1 Cor. 2:8). But if the most distinguished wandered in darkness, what
shall we say of the refuse? No wonder, therefore, that all worship of
manís device is repudiated by the Holy Spirit as degenerate. Any opinion
which man can form in heavenly mysteries, though it may not beget a long train
of errors, is still the parent of error. And though nothing worse should
happen, even this is no light sinóto worship an unknown God at random.
Of this sin, however, we hear from our Saviourís own mouth (John 4:22),
that all are guilty who have not been taught out of the law who the God is whom
they ought to worship. Nay, even Socrates in Xenophon (lib. 1 Memorabilia),
lauds the response of Apollo enjoining every man to worship the gods according
to the rites of his country, and the particular practice of his own city. But
what right have mortals thus to decide of their own authority in a matter which
is far above the world; or who can so acquiesce in the will of his forefathers,
or the decrees of the people, as unhesitatingly to receive a god at their
hands? Every one will adhere to his own Judgment, sooner than submit to the
dictation of others. Since, therefore, in regulating the worship of God, the
custom of a city, or the consent of antiquity, is a too feeble and fragile bond
of piety; it remains that God himself must bear witness to himself from
heaven.

14. In vain for us, therefore, does Creation exhibit so many bright lamps
lighted up to show forth the glory of its Author. Though they beam upon us from
every quarter, they are altogether insufficient of themselves to lead us into
the right path. Some sparks, undoubtedly, they do throw out; but these are
quenched before they can give forth a brighter effulgence. Wherefore, the
apostle, in the very place where he says that the worlds are images of
invisible things, adds that it is by faith we understand that they were
framed by the word of God (Heb. 11:3); thereby intimating that the invisible
Godhead is indeed represented by such displays, but that we have no eyes to
perceive it until they are enlightened through faith by internal revelation
from God. When Paul says that that which may be known of God is manifested by
the creation of the world, he does not mean such a manifestation as may be
comprehended by the wit of man (Rom. 1:19); on the contrary, he shows that it
has no further effect than to render us inexcusable (Acts 17:27). And though he
says, elsewhere, that we have not far to seek for God, inasmuch as he dwells
within us, he shows, in another passage, to what extent this nearness to God is
availing. God, says he, ìin times past, suffered all nations to walk in
their own ways. Nevertheless, he left not himself without witness, in that he
did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our
hearts with food and gladness,î (Acts 14:16, 17). But though God is not
left without a witness, while, with numberless varied acts of kindness, he woos
men to the knowledge of himself, yet they cease not to follow their own ways,
in other words, deadly errors.

15. But though we are deficient in natural powers which might enable us to rise
to a pure and clear knowledge of God, still, as the dullness which prevents us
is within, there is no room for excuse. We cannot plead ignorance, without
being at the same time convicted by our own consciences both of sloth and
ingratitude. It were, indeed, a strange defence for man to pretend that he has
no ears to hear the truth, while dumb creatures have voices loud enough to
declare it; to allege that he is unable to see that which creatures without
eyes demonstrate, to excuse himself on the ground of weakness of mind, while
all creatures without reason are able to teach. Wherefore, when we wander and
go astray, we are justly shut out from every species of excuse, because all
things point to the right path. But while man must bear the guilt of corrupting
the seed of divine knowledge so wondrously deposited in his mind, and
preventing it from bearing good and genuine fruit, it is still most true that
we are not sufficiently instructed by that bare and simple, but magnificent
testimony which the creatures bear to the glory of their Creator. For no sooner
do we, from a survey of the world, obtain some slight knowledge of Deity, than
we pass by the true God, and set up in his stead the dream and phantom of our
own brain, drawing away the praise of justice, wisdom, and goodness, from the
fountain-head, and transferring it to some other quarter. Moreover, by the
erroneous estimate we form, we either so obscure or pervert his daily works, as
at once to rob them of their glory and the author of them of his just
praise.